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Thomas Alsgaard

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Thomas Alsgaard
Thomas Alsgaard in April 2013
Country Norway
Full nameThomas Alsgaard
Born (1972-01-10) 10 January 1972 (age 52)
Lørenskog, Norway
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Ski clubEidsvold Værks Skiklub
World Cup career
Seasons11 – (1993–2003)
Starts110
Podiums29
Wins13
Overall titles1 – (1998)
Discipline titles2 – (1 LD, 1 SP)
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  Norway
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 5 1 0
World Championships 6 2 1
Total 11 3 1
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1994 Lillehammer 30 km freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1998 Nagano 4 × 10 km relay
Gold medal – first place 1998 Nagano 10 km + 15 km
combined pursuit
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 10 km + 10 km
combined pursuit
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 4 × 10 km relay
Silver medal – second place 1994 Lillehammer 4 × 10 km relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1995 Thunder Bay 4 × 10 km relay
Gold medal – first place 1997 Trondheim 4 × 10 km relay
Gold medal – first place 1999 Ramsau 10 km + 15 km
combined pursuit
Gold medal – first place 2001 Lahti 4 × 10 km relay
Gold medal – first place 2003 Val di Fiemme 30 km classical
Gold medal – first place 2003 Val di Fiemme 4 × 10 km relay
Silver medal – second place 1999 Ramsau 30 km freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1999 Ramsau 4 × 10 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Trondheim 30 km freestyle
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1991 Reit im Winkl 10 km classical
Gold medal – first place 1991 Reit im Winkl 30 km freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1991 Reit im Winkl 4 × 10 km relay
Silver medal – second place 1992 Vuokatti 10 km classical

Thomas Alsgaard (born 10 January 1972) is a Norwegian former professional cross-country skier. Alsgaard is regarded by many as the best performer of the freestyle technique (skating) in cross-country skiing and many of today's best skiers have studied his technique. In total, Alsgaard won 15 medals in the Winter Olympics and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, making him one of the most successful skiers of all time.

Early life

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Born in Flateby, Enebakk, Alsgaard began cross-country ski racing at the age of three. That was when he was entered into a race against many 5-year-olds. He beat all of them. A year later, it was rumored that he was lost in the village the family lived in. In fact, he was found at the local ski area, just about to start his third time around a 9-kilometer loop. Alsgaard says that his passion for skiing comes from liking to be outdoors.

Athletic career

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Alsgaard got his international breakthrough in the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics winning the 30 kilometre freestyle event. In total, Alsgaard won 15 medals in the Winter Olympics and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, making him one of the most successful skiers of all time. Excluding his World Championships debut in 1993, Alsgaard won at least one gold medal at every Olympic Games and World Championships that he participated from 1994 to 2003. Alsgaard retired from racing after the 2003 World Championships.

He won the Holmenkollen medal in 2001 (shared with Adam Małysz and Bente Skari).

After his career as a professional skier

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Alsgaard retired from racing in 2003. Between 2013 and 2017 he was the owner and manager of a ski team, Team LeasePlan.[1]

He now works as a technical advisor for Alpina Sports, working in the Nordic boot department.

He is also known as a sports commentator[2] for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

In the Norwegian Championship in January 2011, Alsgaard took a sensational bronze medal at the 15 km classical individual race, defeating many skiers on the Norwegian World Cup team. He was only beaten by Eldar Rønning (gold) and Martin Johnsrud Sundby (silver). He repeated the feat in 2012, expressing frustration with the lack of aggressiveness and initiative in both the younger elite athletes and the team surrounding them.[3]

Ski Classics team owner

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As of December 2016 the team consists of four "allround" skiers and six skiers with langløp (or long races) as their specialty; Swede Lina Korsgren is the team's only female (as of 2016); Hans Kristian Stadheim assists in coaching.[4] On 21 April 2017, Alsgaard announced that Team LeasePlan had to shut down due to sponsorship problems.[5]

Cross-country skiing results

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All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[6]

Olympic Games

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  • 6 medals – (5 gold, 1 silver)
 Year   Age   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   50 km   4 × 10 km 
 relay  		 Sprint 
1994 22 24 — DNS Gold — Silver —
1998 26 5 — Gold DNF 6 Gold —
2002 30 — — Gold 12 — Gold —

World Championships

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  • 9 medals – (6 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
 Year   Age   10 km  15 km   Pursuit   30 km   50 km   Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
1993 21 — — — — DNF — —
1995 23 21 — 8 — 27 — Gold
1997 25 11 — 4 Bronze — — Gold
1999 27 14 — Gold Silver — — Silver
2001 29 — 16 5 — — 12 Gold
2003 31 — — — Gold — 41 Gold

World Cup

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Season titles

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  • 3 titles – (1 overall, long distance, 1 sprint)
Season
Discipline
1998 Overall
Long Distance
Sprint

Season standings

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 Season   Age 
Overall Long Distance Middle Distance Sprint
1993 21 20 — — —
1994 22 7 — — —
1995 23 16 — — —
1996 24 8 — — —
1997 25 17 6 — 24
1998 26 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) — 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1999 27 13 18 — 27
2000 28 5 4 8 —
2001 29 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) — — 6
2002 30 2nd place, silver medalist(s) — — 21
2003 31 46 — — 43

Individual podiums

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  • 13 victories
  • 29 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 1993–94 14 February 1994 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 30 km Individual F Olympic Games[1] 1st
2  1994–95  8 January 1995 Sweden Östersund, Sweden 30 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
3 25 March 1995 Japan Sapporo, Japan 15 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
4  1996–97  21 February 1997 Norway Trondheim, Norway 30 km Individual F World Championships[1] 3rd
5  1997–98  14 December 1997 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 15 km Pursuit F World Cup 2nd
6 16 December 1997 15 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
7 20 December 1997 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 30 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
8 3 January 1998 Russia Kavgolovo, Russia 30 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
9 8 January 1998 Austria Ramsau, Austria 15 km Individual C World Cup 1st
10 10 January 1998 30 km Individual F World Cup 1st
11 8 March 1998 Finland Lahti, Finland 30 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
12 11 March 1998 Sweden Falun, Sweden 10 km Individual F World Cup 1st
13  1998–99  19 February 1999 Austria Ramsau, Austria 30 km Individual F World Championships[1] 2nd
14 19 February 1999 15 km Pursuit F World Championships[1] 1st
15  1999–00  27 November 1999 Sweden Kiruna, Sweden 10 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
16 11 December 1999 Italy Sappada, Italy 7.5 km + 15 km Duathlon C/F World Cup 1st
17 9 January 2000 Russia Moscow, Russia 30 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
18 12 January 2000 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 15 km Individual C World Cup 1st
19  2000–01  25 November 2000 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
20 29 November 2000 10 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
21 17 December 2000 Italy Brusson, Italy 1.0 km Sprint F World Cup 1st
22 10 February 2001 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 10 km Individual C World Cup 1st
23 7 March 2001 Norway Oslo, Norway 1.0 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
24  2001–02  25 November 2001 Finland Kuopio, Finland 10 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
25 5 January 2002 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 10 km + 10 km Duathlon C/F World Cup 2nd
26 2 March 2002 Finland Lahti, Finland 15 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
27 9 March 2002 Sweden Falun, Sweden 10 km + 10 km Duathlon C/F World Cup 1st
28 16 March 2002 Norway Oslo, Norway 50 km Individual F World Cup 1st
29 23 March 2002 Norway Birkebeinerrennet, Norway 58 km Mass Start C World Cup 1st

Team podiums

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  • 12 victories – (12 RL)
  • 25 podiums – (24 RL, 1 TS)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)
1  1993–94  22 February 1994 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C/F Olympic Games[1] 2nd Sivertsen / Ulvang / Dæhlie
2 4 March 1994 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 2nd Skjeldal / Eide / E. Kristiansen
3 1994–95 18 December 1994 Italy Sappada, Italy 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 1st E. Kristiansen / Skjeldal / Dæhlie
4 5 February 1995 Sweden Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 1st Sivertsen / Langli / Dæhlie
5 12 February 1995 Norway Oslo, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Sivertsen / Jevne / B. Kristiansen
6 17 March 1995 Canada Thunder Bay, Canada 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Championships[1] 1st Sivertsen / Jevne / Dæhlie
7 26 March 1995 Japan Sapporo, Japan 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Ulvang / Dæhlie / Skjeldal
8  1995–96  10 December 1995 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 2nd Sivertsen / Jevne / Dæhlie
9 14 January 1996 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 2nd Ulvang / Jevne / Dæhlie
10 26 February 1996 Norway Trondheim, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Ulvang / Jevne / Dæhlie
11 1 March 1996 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Skjeldal / Eide / E. Kristiansen
12 1996–97 28 February 1997 Norway Trondheim, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Championships[1] 1st Sivertsen / Jevne / Dæhlie
13 9 March 1997 Sweden Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Hjelmeset / Skaanes / Sørgård
14 1997–98 23 November 1997 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Eide / Jevne / Dæhlie
15 6 March 1998 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Estil / Sivertsen / Eide
16  1998–99  26 February 1999 Austria Ramsau, Austria 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Championships[1] 2nd Bjervig / Jevne / Dæhlie
17  1999–00  28 November 1999 Sweden Kiruna, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 2nd Bjervig / Skjeldal / Hetland
18 13 January 2000 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Hjelmeset / Jevne / Skjeldal
19 2000–01 9 December 2000 Italy Santa Caterina, Italy 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Estil / Skjeldal / Hetland
20  2001–02  16 December 2001 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Estil / Jevne / Hetland
21 10 March 2002 Sweden Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Estil / Aukland / Skjeldal
22  2002–03  24 November 2002 Sweden Kiruna, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Skjeldal / Aukland / Hetland
23 8 December 2002 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Aukland / Bjonviken / Hetland
24 19 January 2003 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Aukland / Estil / Hofstad
25 26 January 2003 Germany Oberhof, Germany 10 × 1.5 km Team Sprint F World Cup 3rd Svartedal

Note: 1 Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

Equipment

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Alsgaard used skis from Madshus, one of Alpina's partners, with Alpina boots and Rottefella bindings.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Thomas Alsgaard og Lina Korsgren - Denne jenta er helt spesiell for Alsgaard. Avslører møtet som endret alt: - Jeg var skeptisk". 8 December 2016.
  2. ^ Kirkebøen, Stein Erik (5 January 2009). "Ekspert-veldet". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  3. ^ Kvamme, Sigve (26 January 2012). "- Hvorfor var det ikke noen løpere eller trenere som spurte meg?". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Thomas Alsgaard og Lina Korsgren - Denne jenta er helt spesiell for Alsgaard. Avslører møtet som endret alt: - Jeg var skeptisk". 8 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Thomas Alsgaard legger ned Team LeasePlan" (in Norwegian). langrenn.com. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  6. ^ "ALSGAARD Thomas". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
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